Saint Asonia (album)

Saint Asonia is the debut studio album by rock supergroup Saint Asonia. The album was released on July 31, 2015 through RCA Records. It was released in European countries with two additional tracks on November 23, 2015.

Background
First announced via YouTube through a teaser in early May 2015, the first single "Better Place" was released on May 16, 2015. This also confirmed the group's lineup, with Adam Gontier as the frontman, Mike Mushok being the guitarist, Corey Lowery as the bassist and Rich Beddoe as the drummer. Gontier's uncle Tom Duffy provided the bass tracks for some of the songs from the album, while Lowery was hired afterward. They announced the release date and track list for the album on June 18, 2015 via Billboard. The second single, "Let Me Live My Life" was released digitally on July 17, 2015.

This is also the only studio album from the band to feature drummer Rich Beddoe before he confirmed his departure in 2017, as well as the only studio album to feature bassist Corey Lowery before he confirmed his departure in 2018.

Critical reception
The album was received with mixed reviews. James Christopher Monger of AllMusic gave the album a 2.5 out of 5 star rating. He criticized the songs for feeling like, "cast-offs from prior projects, with recycled melodies and lyrics that sound like they were derived from an angst-centric magnetic poetry kit." However he complimented some songs such as, "Better Place," "Dying Slowly," and "Blow Me Wide Open". Johan Wippsson of Melodic called the tracks, "Better Place" and "Happy Tragedy" a harder and more straightforward version of Three Days Grace. Michael Smith of Renowned for Sound stated that the album, "is obviously and unashamedly a heavy rock album at its core" and "highlights all of the best qualities of its members." However, he was critical on the track "Fairy Tale" for its repetitiveness both in sound and lyrics, as well as criticizing "King of Nothing" calling it "an especially noticeable low point on the album." Ultimate Guitar said that the album is, "ready to please mainstream rock radio and guitarists alike with its brand of hard rock peppered with soulful (not kidding) ballads to boot."

The album sold 13,000 copies in its first week.

Personnel
Credits for Saint Asonia adapted from AllMusic.


 * Saint Asonia
 * Adam Gontier – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
 * Mike Mushok – lead guitar
 * Corey Lowery – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * Rich Beddoe – drums


 * Additional musicians
 * Thomas Duffy – bass guitar (tracks 3-6, 9, 12)
 * Johnny K – bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 8, 10)
 * Alan Berliant – bass guitar (tracks 7, 11)
 * Graham Czach – bass guitar (track 13)


 * Production
 * Johnny K – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Matt Dougherty – assistant engineer, digital editing
 * Bradley Cook – second assistant engineer
 * Pete Murray – programming (tracks 3, 5, 6)
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * David Wolter – A&R
 * Ryan Clark – art direction and design